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They Don’t Make ’Em Like They Used To: The Rom-Com Decline
7 Plays1 month ago
What happened to the golden age of the romantic comedy? In this episode, we unpack why Hollywood stopped making rom-coms the way they used to — from shrinking budgets and the rise of streaming to the A-listers who’ve stepped away from the genre. Where are the next Reese Witherspoons, Matthew McConaugheys, and Kate Hudsons? And why do so many Netflix rom-coms just feel… off?
We also look back at the comedies of the past that blended heart, humor, and genuine romance — the ones that made us believe in finding love and movie magic.
✨ Enjoyed the episode? Help us grow by following the show and leaving a quick review — it really helps more movie lovers find us!
🎧 Keywords: rom-com podcast, romantic comedy decline, movie nostalgia, Hollywood trends, streaming movies, rom-com revival, film discussion podcast, pop culture commentary
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Transcript
Introduction and Enthusiasm for Romantic Comedies
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello, everyone. We are back for another episode. Today, we're going to be tackling a really fun topic. I have been really looking forward to this. like This has been on my list to talk about for like a while now ah because it sets of was a very big part of my childhood slash teenage, college
Current State of Romantic Comedies
00:00:22
Speaker
years. like My whole like younger years, like this has been this topic has been a big part of my life, and it is the ra Romantic, rom-com, you know romance genre of film. Romantic comedies, not romance.
00:00:37
Speaker
We're talking about romantic comedies. Romantic comedies, specifically. And I'll talk about some sub-genres that Rod and I were talking about before we started recording here. um Because there's lots. right now, you know one of the main things that that the I question, and Rod and I both question, is where where did they go?
00:00:58
Speaker
How come we don't have romantic comedies released in the movie theater anymore. Why do we get like, you know, maybe, maybe one, maybe, I think, I think we get like maybe one a year.
00:01:10
Speaker
Granted this year, i don't think we had any. um Well, we were bamboozled. We were bamboozled thinking it was a romantic comedy. Materialist might be a romantic comedy, but it really wasn't. So, yeah.
00:01:25
Speaker
ah I, I, this year i haven't seen any, I don't think there's anything that came out in the actual movie theater. Um, everything is pretty much streaming now. And, you know, I think that's where things kind of really went quote unquote, like downhill in a way, because now all of our romantic comedies or sub genres or, you know, anything in that vicinity is just being put on streaming services. Now, granted, I have seen some that were like pretty good. don't know if you saw, um, um,
00:01:56
Speaker
The Idea of You with Anne Hathaway and... yeah I saw that. Yeah, Amazon Prime. That was a good one. i think that's like a wrong one. Wasn't that last year? was that That was last year, right?
00:02:08
Speaker
I think it was. Yeah, that was a good movie. I enjoyed that. that was that That's pretty good. pretty good Yeah, The Idea of You, that one was pretty good. Oh, and the one would yeah the the one with Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman on that was on Netflix. That bad, though. That was pretty bad.
00:02:22
Speaker
Yeah, but still, that's a romantic comedy that came out. Yeah, it was bad. And it had stars in it. you know like That's the other thing, Mel. We got to think about this. Do big stars want to do these movies? I mean, Nicole Kidman is a big, big star.
The Shift of Big Stars Away from Rom-Coms
00:02:36
Speaker
Zac Efron is a star. Anne Hathaway. Anne Hathaway is a big, big star. So- you know i guess there are certain things i mean j-lo is a big big star she still does them granted she has a she has some sort of contract with with amazon because all her stuff it seems to just be going to amazon now yeah and her movies are kind of a it's it's it is really hard and like and this is like where i have to you know bring it bring back because i mean that's a very good that's a very good um way to look at it is like we'll do celebrities want to do rom-coms anymore
00:03:07
Speaker
and i'm like well mean what's wrong with being in a romantic comedy like they're like there's nothing i mean i i think it's all about like skirts because also i think the idea of you is a book right and the world we're living in now everything is book to movie there's not that many original ideas you know as we as we kind of know you know we've talked about we've talked about it there's not that many original ideas and i think that's the same with like um with rom-coms unless they are you know the ones that are just going to streaming like these Netflix ones that they're just like just putting out there and it's just you whatever like people you don't know they're just like random you know or maybe like some like C-list celebrities I like to call them you know like because I don't know that's what I've kind of noticed for the most part is most of them end up being like
00:03:56
Speaker
kind of like a little bit of like C-lister kind of thing. Like Lindsay Lohan... don't know if Lindsay... Would you consider Lindsay Lohan a C-list celebrity? What would you consider Lindsay Lohan right now? think so. Like a C-list, right? I think she's a C-list celebrity.
00:04:08
Speaker
Lindsay Lohan does have a pull because she is nostalgic. She is nostalgic for us as an actress because, you know, she kind of grew up... She became kind of a star in our kind of youthful day. So she's having a bit of a resurgence. I don't know i don't know if in Canada you...
00:04:24
Speaker
Well, Canada, you guys don't have Verizon. You have your own thing. But here, she's doing Verizon ads. you know and and Oh, really? Yeah, for Verizon Fios and the internet stuff. And you see her kind of at home setting up the internet and stuff. And don't thought it was kind of cool. I'm like, oh great. It's great to see Lindsay Lohan. Because for a long time, Lindsay Lohan did have a lot of personal troubles.
00:04:41
Speaker
Then this year was a big year for her because she came back. And you know she did Freak Year Friday. don't remember. I don't know how it did in the box office. But I think for the most part, people that saw it were fairly, you know, they were entertained. They liked the movie after have to watch. i've watched it yet.
00:04:53
Speaker
Yeah, it was good. It was good it was entertaining. it was ah it was it was a love letter It was actually a love letter to the original that first one. and And also, you know what? I think you would dig it because it's kind of a love letter to a lot of those types of movies from back then. It's a lot of line of that to it. And I thought it was cute.
00:05:09
Speaker
But yeah, Lindsay Lohan, I think is a C-list star. I think she's, she's she's you could pencil her in that. C-list, don't know if you know, but she has a ah she has a pretty good amount of like romantic comedies on Netflix. like yeah I think she released like two or three in the last couple of years that she's like fully been building back that I've seen.
00:05:28
Speaker
Yes. And they're okay. They're just so Hallmark to me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's where... It's a quality thing, man. I think i think that's where it is. there's a there's a There's a quality aspect to these... And, then you know, I don't ah do not mean to shit on the straight-to-streamers because there are some straight-to-streamer movies that are very high quality. I mean, listen, Guillermo del Toro is about to drop Frankenstein, which is as which is a Netflix vehicle, but that's Guillermo del Toro. You know you're going to get high quality, high art stuff.
00:06:02
Speaker
So... But, you know, you can do high quality to a romantic comedy. The question I think I have,
Impact of Book Adaptations on Rom-Coms
00:06:09
Speaker
maybe you could help me answer it, Mel, is why are studios not okay? Especially in ah in ah in a landscape where we're so obsessed And I say we, because you and I, we talk about movies and stuff. So we kind of go deep into the production aspect.
00:06:24
Speaker
Don't know how much general audiences care, but I think they are because you're seeing lot of articles including it. Talk about budgets. Your Hollywood Reporter, um the ah the Vanity Fair, Forbes, they all talk about budgets of movies. Oh, this movie had a crazy budget.
00:06:39
Speaker
And i I find it funny because I'm like... You know what? um I'm a movie going fan. I don't give a fuck about the budget because I'm going to see the movie and I'm paying my ticket.
00:06:49
Speaker
You know what I mean? And in the back of our minds, I'm like, should we care about budgets? Because if the budget is high and the movie doesn't do well, then chances are that movie might not, you know, be another sequel, sequel or another movie of that type of movie ah will be made. But then when you think about a romantic comedy,
00:07:06
Speaker
If you truly think about it, it's a very bare-bones project. there is no c There's barely CGI if there is. you know i mean I'm not going to lie, there are special effects because sometimes when they shoot a certain locations, it's not really a location. It's like ah a green screen. That's VFX. As long as people think VFX, they think of like a CGI thing.
00:07:26
Speaker
No, if you're in a place and there's a green screen behind you and they have to do something, that's special effects. yeah It's not like Avatar or like you know like any of the MCU or DCU movies or anything like that, but it is special effects. But it's it's it's not the quality for that isn't what is going to drive the press the price up for the budget of a romantic comedy.
00:07:46
Speaker
A romantic comedy, you can shoot a romantic comedy for like less than $50 million, maybe even less than like $30 million. You know what I mean? I think the price tag does come in with the actor you choose. And I think, Mel, that might be our answer.
00:08:00
Speaker
Maybe what we're starting to see is that a lot of these actors' price tags that used to do these movies or maybe actors that wanted to do it, they're like, you're not you can't afford me. Because if, like, let's say, for instance, let's let's go... you know, it's funny. I've been i've told you you should watch this show. I think you should. It's really good. I've been watching The Morning Show.
00:08:20
Speaker
It's fantastic. I never thought I would be into it, but Mel, please listen to it. I don't even know like what that show is. like me Is it a comedy? Is it a drama? I don't know what is. It's a drama. It's a drama. but It's a drama.
00:08:33
Speaker
There is little aspects of comedy, but it's definitely, it's drama. It's so good. It's so good. Mel, I'm telling you, you will you will not be disappointed. Performances in there are top notch.
00:08:44
Speaker
I will tell you right now, think you will love it. But just to digress. One of the people in that show is Reese Witherspoon, who at one point was kind of like the queen of romantic comedies. She was in rom-com. She was the rom-com queen. I'm not even princess, queen.
00:09:01
Speaker
And I think Reese Witherspoon got to a point where she's like, I want to do something more. Maybe she got tired of doing it. She got tired of being typecast as that romantic rom-com queen.
00:09:14
Speaker
And you notice, though, she started doing a lot more dramas and she started going into that world. And I think she ended up winning an Oscar um for the Johnny... i think it was the Johnny Cash movie she won an Oscar. She was trying to go really serious in that aspect.
00:09:27
Speaker
And I also think Reese with this woman was like, you guys can't afford me. you know If you're going to ask me to do a romantic comedy, I am going to command $15 to $20 million dollars Plus, I want producer credits on it.
Streaming's Influence on the Rom-Com Landscape
00:09:42
Speaker
Because Reese is a very good businesswoman. As i don't know if many of you know, she has a book club. Her book club, which she's, this woman is, ah it's incredible. She just has her own production company now.
00:09:54
Speaker
Well, no, it's not that. it There is a person through the book, through the book club, because what she does is she promotes books, but the books she promotes through the book club, she automatically gets like first rights deals for the movies.
00:10:09
Speaker
Oh, I didn't know this at all. Yes. Yes. She's she has locked that down. Not saying that she's going to star in it, but if it goes into production, she's producer of that movie. She has the rights to to those things.
00:10:23
Speaker
Oh, shoot. So, yeah, she's she's locked that down. So my thing is, like, a person like Reese Witherspoon, she's not going to really look back on doing romantic comedies like that because she kind of like, you know, i've been there, did that. I'm off to bigger and better things.
00:10:37
Speaker
um same thing with a you know well i'm gonna go really throw back on this meg ryan in the 90s meg ryan and tom hanks were the like freaking romantic yeah they did a lot of romantic in seattle um you know they did you've got me which is my personal favorite meg ryan did an earlier earlier movie called when harry met sally which is a super popular romantic comedy ah from the early 90s.
00:11:00
Speaker
So she was that thing. And, you know, granted, me ah Meg Ryan is, you know, she's she's older now. And unfortunately, we know how Hollywood is with the standards of women aging. But, you know, she's a woman that she did a lot. She also started to get out of there She started to do more dramatic things.
00:11:14
Speaker
I think there is something to it, Mel, of And that they're being like, yeah, I don't want to keep doing this because I don't want to get typecast. I want to do something bigger. I want to do something better. And there's also the aspect of, well, are you going to be able to afford me?
00:11:29
Speaker
And I think that's what ends up happening. I have something to say. Well, I have two things to say. So Reese Witherspoon was actually in a rom-com with Ashton Kutcher on Netflix called yours and Yours and Mine or Yours or Mines or something where they pay like friends. They've been friends for really a long time. It's like a friend's turn. Yeah, I remember. I remember.
00:11:47
Speaker
I've seen it. And was cute. Like, she she does do them. But also, like, I mean, you're thinking, like, these, like, you know, you've got Jennifer Lopez. you know You've got these bigger names that used to do these rom-coms.
00:11:59
Speaker
I mean, granted, I do think that Hollywood is a little bit more, like, what you said is true, you know, about women aging. But, you know, I think they are still, like, that was, like, what they're trying to do with these newer rom-coms.
00:12:11
Speaker
yeah Rom-coms, like they had Anna Hathaway with like a younger guy. They had Nicole Kidman with like a younger guy, you know, Zac Efron. Right. I think they're really playing with the idea of like these older women, like finding love with like, you know, you know, these crazy circumstances.
00:12:25
Speaker
There was this great movie. They're flipping the script. Yeah. There was a movie. And like, it is interesting that you said that about being old because I actually felt that there were some movies in the two thousands that still had older people. Like something's got to give.
00:12:40
Speaker
Yeah. Great movie. Older couple. Yeah. R.I.P. Diane Keaton. Yeah, R.I.P. Diane Keaton. But think about it. You had two goats there. You had Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton. That's just like... I'll honest with you.
00:12:55
Speaker
That's different. Because those are two those are two legends that are going to haul people You know what I mean? So that's different. But no, no, but what I'm saying is, it's like, it's not that it can't be done.
00:13:07
Speaker
no, of course it can't be done. Yeah. that And also my other one, I love this one. It's complicated with Meryl Streep. Oh, that's awesome. Alec Baldwin. that was great. And Steve Martin. Yeah. Great movie. Also about like, and it's Meryl Streep. I mean, it's Meryl Streep. Meryl Streep. Yeah, it's Meryl Like, I get what you're saying though about like getting those actors to like want to do like a rom-com because they, they're actors of a, of a certain caliber. They're going to be like, that's going to be your budget. your budget They're going to demand they're gonna dare are going to command a heavy, heavy, heavy heavy heavy price tag.
00:13:38
Speaker
yeah they're gonna come and i so and And then that's where like I think unfortunately we kind of drop where we kind of drop off as to why movies don't go to the movie theater anymore. Because I feel like as audience members, like not a lot of people go to the movies to watch romantic comedies anymore, which is weird. And i don't know if it's just because the world, like the, the, the people that are now growing up in what the time that we were growing up, that were our age, like they're not there. They're watching everything on streaming. Like
Challenges in Producing Romantic Comedies
00:14:09
Speaker
if you think about like the samurai turned pretty, which look at my, look, my friend got me this. i don't know if you can see it.
00:14:15
Speaker
Let me check it out. It says Cousins Beach and it says Team Conrad on it. She got it for me for my birthday. That's cute. That's cute. But yeah, it's a very cute mug. I love it. It says we'll always have summer.
00:14:27
Speaker
But like if I think about it, right? Even though i'm what I'm in my 30s and I'm watching this show that's about like fucking teenagers, right? If I flip the script and I think of what age I was when I was watching these rom-coms, I was the age of the people that are probably watching this now or a little bit, ah you know, in their early 20s, late teens, right? Those are the people that are technically the audience for The Samurai Turned Pretty, right?
00:14:51
Speaker
yeah But these people are watching everything on streaming. Like no one's going like to the movies to watch things anymore. People like and that that are the age that I was when I used to go to the movie theater.
00:15:02
Speaker
Like they're growing up in a world of streaming, not in they're they're living in a different world. So now like I think the idea of having big budgets, if you put this movie in a movie theater, it's probably not going to make as much money. Like um the last movie I saw in the movie theater was that was a rom-com, like an actual rom-com, was Anyone But You, which I actually really liked with um Glenn Powell and Sidney Sweeney.
00:15:30
Speaker
Did you watch that one? I don't know if you watched it. No, I didn't. That was actually like a rom-com. Like, I was very surprised. I think I saw it... I think I saw it the year came out. I think I saw it around Christmas time. I saw it after. There was nobody in movie theater. It was literally me and Rudy and I think another couple and that was it. That's how dead it was in there.
00:15:51
Speaker
But that was a true comedy. When I saw that, I was like, oh man, why is no one else in here watching this? This is like... like What I used to watch all the time.
00:16:04
Speaker
And now nobody, everybody just waited until it was on streaming to watch it. um And I don't know. Honestly, I don't know how streaming works with like money wise. Like I, that is a whole other thing. Like I have no idea how streaming works when it comes to making money because it's not like a tick. Like is a ticket the equivalent of a person who pays for Netflix or is it the person who watches that actual thing?
00:16:31
Speaker
show You know, I don't know. i don't know what the um streaming aspect of it is. I think it's time. I think it's number of times it's been watched. um I also think they go into account of like how many people joined was the streaming service when this movie happened to drop.
00:16:47
Speaker
Drop, yeah. I think there's a lot of algorithms and and and numbers and analytics that they look at because I think that's where, you know unfortunately, I think this is where we're at now when it comes to these types of things for entertainment. They go analytical and they look at numbers as opposed to looking at you know other things.
00:17:06
Speaker
And I feel like... Yeah, i feel like I feel like this is... and Listen, I see what you're getting at. I get what you're getting at. And yeah, there there are people... The people of of youth now, the 20-year-olds, a lot of them don't go to the movies.
00:17:21
Speaker
They only go to the movies for like big event films, which is what the studios... But I also feel like this is all the doing of studios. Studios created this monster.
00:17:35
Speaker
They did because they, what's the word I'm looking for? They programmed audience members now to be like, okay, if you're going to go to the movies, it's got to be a big event. you know Like for instance, we did we we we I always go back to this topic, but it's this is the topic of thing.
00:17:53
Speaker
We've done 10 years of MCU. MCU kind of programmed audiences to show up to these big events. movies and just show up for that. But you know, other things, they don't do that.
00:18:05
Speaker
You know what I mean? Um, they don't go into that. You know, whose fault is that? That's most likely the studios that didn't, didn't invest much into the product of maybe promoting said movies. You know what I mean?
00:18:17
Speaker
Um, maybe putting things out there for those movies, you know, it's, it's it's a hard thing to figure out. All I know is, You're right in what you say. But just to push back on what you're saying, that still doesn't answer the fact of why aren't stars doing this? Because let's be honest, Mel.
00:18:35
Speaker
A movie, a romantic comedy is going to be big when you have big stars in it. And Glenn Powell and Sidney Sweeney. Yeah, Glenn Powell is the yet guy now. Sidney Sweeney is kind of you know making a name for herself. But theirre their their names are still not like...
00:18:49
Speaker
you know, Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway. You know what I'm saying? like it yeah it ain't It isn't a draw like that. You know what I mean? and i think unfortunate i think That's Honestly, i think I think it's... You know what it is?
00:19:03
Speaker
It's stars pull in people. You know what I mean? They pull in. And these streamers that we're getting, we're getting, you Sophia Carson is the new it girl for Netflix. God. don't like it girl. For doing Netflix movies. You know what I mean?
00:19:19
Speaker
And you got all these other kind of like, you know. They're younger. like Yeah. like they're trying to establish They're trying to establish themselves. Yeah. you know, but it's just it's it's one it's still, it's one of those things where it's like a star is going to call people, is going to haul people into theaters.
00:19:37
Speaker
That's just where it's at. you know Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Okay, for instance, um I'm actually going to brush back on something that I told you last a few weeks ago when we did our interview, um and of you our episode.
00:19:50
Speaker
um The Rock. The Rock dropped that movie, The Smashing Machine. Yeah. And it bombed at the box office. Oh, has it bombed? and only Opening week, it only made $6 million. Ironically, ironically, you're going to love this.
00:20:05
Speaker
It came out the same weekend as... Life of a Showgirl, which blew everything out of the wall. Taylor Swift made more, buddy. i didn't They didn't they didt account for the Taylor Swift effect.
00:20:17
Speaker
But, you know, I think... I paid for that. Then again, the Smashing Machine isn't supposed to be... yeah it's not It's not your traditional action rock movie. It's a drama. So it's a very different thing. So I imagine fans of his that went to go see this movie...
00:20:34
Speaker
probably were like, you know, what is this? this is This isn't what we're accustomed to. Granted, you know, he's been getting a lot of praise for it. I don't know how much it's going to help in his chase for an Oscar nomination or award time.
00:20:48
Speaker
We'll to wait and see. But again, just going back to to what you were saying about um like stars. Yeah. And stars draw people in. Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don't.
00:20:59
Speaker
I think also what you said is true. You know, ah production value. the stories, you know, who are writing these, these, these, yeah, that was my, one of my things I was going to say, now that you you made me think about it was that like,
00:21:14
Speaker
maybe there's just not a lot of people writing these kind of movies anymore, or there's just not a good script. Because I think, I think, you know, i think a lot of people, you know, especially these like heart, like, you know, A-listers or whatever, I think when they're reading scripts, they really want something that's going to be something that they can...
00:21:33
Speaker
chew on or something that's gonna not be like too like, yeah like simple. yeah um And I think that's the hard thing about a romcom is that a romcom is a pretty simple plot.
00:21:45
Speaker
Like if you think of any romcom, the plot is always the same. what deal It is girl meets guy. They either are friends, they're either enemies, they're either co workers, they you have to work together for something and they fall in love. One person resists another person and then they end they finally get to together.
00:22:01
Speaker
That is that it's a rom-com. It is simple. So the idea of like, what are you supposed to do in a rom-com to make it like, oh, I'm going to make this like something that actors can chew on because it's like, it's simple. It's not supposed to.
00:22:16
Speaker
and And I think that's what makes it harder is like rom-coms aren't supposed to be anything revolutionary. There's supposed to be something simple and fun and something that makes you want to just be like, oh my God, they're so cute. I believe in love again, right? That is what... Well, that's the formula. That's the base formula. That's the base formula of a rom-com. So like, you know...
00:22:42
Speaker
And then that I think that's why right now, because there's not so many ideas, is like what I was saying is like everything that's coming out is a book that's being turned into movies. Like I think, and this isn't a rom-com, but what's his name? There's this movie coming out next weekend, Regretting You by Colleen Hoover, that has the kid from How to Train Your Dragon, has Dave Franco in it, some other actors, right? Some like...
00:23:07
Speaker
which Mason Thames, think that's his name, is like really blowing up right now because he's got like a hell of a year for him. How to Train Your Dragon, Black Phone, and I think this moot this roll romantic drama sad movie. It's definitely like one of these like and Dear or John kind of thing. I'm referring it to like the notebook like Nicholas ni Sparks. Nicholas Sparks like saddish kind of like there's romance but it's more like there's like sad stuff going on around um yeah aside from the romance.
00:23:36
Speaker
um So like it's It's really... I for i lost lost my train of thought. What was i saying? Damn it, I lost my train thought thinking about Mason Tames. What was i saying about about him?
00:23:48
Speaker
i think you were saying that that um he has a movie coming out and... God, I lost like the train thought. I think it's a about the younger crowd, right? Because what I was going to get into was the idea of like younger...
00:24:00
Speaker
I was thinking, I'm like, well, you know, when rom-coms from the 2000s, like if I think of yeah you know that time frame, right? lot of these people were still new, right? Yeah, I mean, like tydd michael Chad Michael Murray was a guy that was in a lot of those things. Yeah.
00:24:16
Speaker
Yeah, but he was also on One Tree Hill. Yeah, but One Tree Hill was a TV show. He was still a TV show. it's not He's not like a star star like that, but he was being kind of like, let's let's let's prep this guy for being on the next time. It's funny, because he does do wrong he does like a lot of the like Hallmark yeah Netflix rom-coms now. It's basically everyone who I grew up with who had like a bit of a chunk of a like a dead time is now coming back.
00:24:45
Speaker
Oh, Okay. Okay. Actually, I take it back. Okay. We forgot about one really. It's fun because I don't want to talk about like shows and movies are really different. You've got Nobody Wants This.
00:24:57
Speaker
That is rom-com in a TV show. Like, why can't we make a movie like that? Like, it's... That show is so... Yeah, it's great. It's a great show. It's a great show. And it's you're 100% right. Adam Brody, Christian yeah Bell. yeah, Christian Bell. It's a really good cast. And you're 100% right on that. I think... Okay, I think there are certain things that work better as a TV show as opposed to a movie. Movie, yes. I think there's room for it. I think that show worked well because it wasn't that many episodes.
00:25:30
Speaker
It was only a half hour. Each episode, it flowed really well. Sometimes those things work better as movie. And I think that's another... You made a very good point. Maybe a lot of these these shows, the idea was a movie first.
00:25:45
Speaker
And whoever came up, whether it was a producer or whether it was a studio, said, you know what? I think this works better as a TV show. And again, bringing it back to streaming, you know, what happened during the pandemic? What?
Nostalgia for Classic Rom-Coms
00:26:01
Speaker
bunch of streamers came out. What did they need on these streamers? Content. So they said, let's take this movie idea that we were thinking of making into a movie and let's just make it into a TV show.
00:26:12
Speaker
And that could be one of those shows. There's a bunch of shows. Like if you look at Netflix, if you get a chance, you go to Netflix, look at all the shows that came out in 2020 and 2021. They were literally there for one season, maybe two.
00:26:25
Speaker
And then they got the axe. Because the Netflix got what they wanted. yeah like we need We needed content for people when they were at home because they couldn't go outside. So let's get a season or two out of this and then we'll give them a chop.
00:26:38
Speaker
Because for instance, my daughter, there's a show that my daughter loves. This show, she watches it on loop she's seen it all 10 episodes there's a show that came out in 2020 called julian the phantoms she loves oh such a great show i'm so mad that show got that that that was wrong she tells me to this day she's like she's like why don't they bring it back why don't do this and i had to like kind of like i had to have a little conversation with her of like you know i had to bring her into the business of like yeah this is how it works you know these these things happen because of x y and z reasons you know what i mean yeah so the yeah you love that show a lot of people probably love that show but maybe not a lot of people watched it and that's what caused netflix to make the decision of like yo you know what we're we're not going continue on because of
00:27:24
Speaker
you know, it didn't get enough views. It didn't get enough attention, you know, which is unfortunate because it was a very good show. I love the asset that it was from a Latin family's perspective. It was a lot of things that I thought were very positive.
00:27:37
Speaker
But again, Netflix made the decision ultimately. But that wasn't just the one show. There was a bunch of shows that Netflix do did that to. bunch of other streamers, you know, Disney Plus. My Lady Jane on Amazon Prime. That was really good.
00:27:49
Speaker
Disney Plus did it. HBO Max did it. Like a bunch of these things. They did it because they're like, yo, you know what? We don't need this show anymore because it didn't bring enough eyes to it. And and we got what we needed from it for the time when it came out for. So it's like, that's fine. We'll give it the chop. We'll give it the ax.
00:28:04
Speaker
But again, I still think there was a lot of shows that that they probably had on the back burner or movies that they had on the back burner. were like, you know what? We're not going make this into a movie. Let's make it into a show. And it wouldn't surprise me if that show, um Nobody Wanted This, maybe started out as, let's make it a movie, and then it turned into... And then, granted, Mel, you know what?
00:28:22
Speaker
Who's to say that if it became a movie, it maybe not wouldn't have been as good as it was as a TV show? Because with a TV show, that's the great thing about a TV show is you can flesh things out. You can get more out of these characters, more like as opposed to just making an hour... maybe making making like an hour and a half. and Under an hour... Under a two-hour movie...
00:28:42
Speaker
Whereas like you breeze through it and, and that's it. You know what I mean? I think that day and age has maybe passed us by for movies and shows like for shows or movies like this. Like, I think this is just what it is.
00:28:57
Speaker
I think, Most of these um people in these studios, these executives, they probably find it more palatable to put our beloved romantic comedies into a show format as opposed to a movie. Because maybe they find it easier to shoot as a full season as opposed to making it a movie.
00:29:18
Speaker
You know what I mean? um Yeah, man. it's it's it's it's a It's very hard to say. Because... I can't tell you how many times. I remember I was growing up. We would watch all these movies. We would watch all these like rom-coms together. Oh, there was like at least five rom-coms a Yeah, bunch of them.
00:29:37
Speaker
A bunch of them. And the family-friendly ones, you know, the Freaky Fridays, the Princess Diary ones, which people don't think like of like as as romantic comedies, but they were romantic comedies. But they were romantic comedies maybe set for a family.
00:29:51
Speaker
ah perspective. You know what I mean? You had the raunchy ones, you know, the American pies, the Euro trips, you know, they were comedies, but there was like a little bit of a romantic aspect to it. You know what I mean? um Then you had the other genres of it, which I loved is when they went into, they do the fantasy and the sci-fi um romantic comedy stuff to it. Like one of my favorites um is was I was trying to find the the year it came out.
00:30:19
Speaker
Sci-fi. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, okay. For instance, one of the movies that, it's an Adam Sandler movie. It's not one of my favorites, but it's really, really good. Click. Do you remember Click? Click. Oh, that movie is so good. It's a very movie. It's very heartfelt, too. like Yes. people don't People think of it, and it's like it's a very heartfelt movie. You know what I mean? Very good movie. And it's funny, it's comedy, but there is a love kind of aspect to it. You know what I mean? There's things there that are very powerful.
00:30:47
Speaker
um Let me see what else. um There was one that ah it was with, it was it was a time traveling one where the all the men in the family. About the time.
00:30:58
Speaker
Yo, let me tell you. I love About Time. It is so underrated. It's amazing. It's an amazing, amazing movie. Amazing film. You know what I mean? that he that it's It's beautiful. And it took the the the rom-com thing and added like a sci-fi twist, so which is I think another thing that maybe...
00:31:18
Speaker
studios could look at and like, how can we take romantic comedies and, and maybe genre bend it a little bit. Let's, let's add some of this to it to maybe disguise it as this, but it's actually this, you know what i mean? But really it be that don't, don't materialist us anymore, please. I'm sorry.
00:31:33
Speaker
um Like, you know, like things like that, you know, like, like those are things that I think that' are, are um important and, and, and matter to us, you know? um I'm trying to look at something else here. um You had like, um,
00:31:46
Speaker
What was it What was the other one? I had it here. Oh, I lost it. um Damn, I did lose it. um Oh, yeah. know You had you had them you had like all these like different types of of of romantic comedies are actually delved into like kind of social topics. You know what I mean? Like she's she's the man is a movie that was a romantic comedy. But, you know, you think about that movie and you think about what the movie was going for. I don't know if that movie gets made today um or maybe if it gets made today, it's done differently.
00:32:16
Speaker
You know what I mean? um you got You got that aspect to it. um you have these kids you have You have these holiday ones. like the One of the most famous holiday romantic comedies of all time ah is Love Actually. Love Actually is is is a it's a it's almost its own subgenre called classic.
00:32:36
Speaker
It's a beautiful film. And it's just... it's like i it is ah It is a holiday classic. It's a movie that's always on during the holidays. It's beautiful. It reaches like people in a different way.
00:32:49
Speaker
And it's also a movie that you look at and it's beautiful because it's like it's kind of like this... It's ah it's ah it's a hodgepodge of different people. It's not just like... ah but that Okay, yes.
00:33:01
Speaker
so so yeah Sorry, sorry. i just i just Because of what you're saying, I'm like thinking. i'm like That was also, think about it, and ah another genre of itself was the movie that had like all the celebrities and everybody had a different story, but they were connected.
00:33:17
Speaker
It was Love Actually, He's Just Not That Into You, Think Like a Man. Was Valentine's Day? Valentine's Day, New Year. New Year's Day. There were so many of those Were they connected? Was Valentine's Day and New Day connected? Wasn't Ashton Kutcher in both them? Was he playing both the same character both? I haven't seen them in so long. haven't seen them because I feel like they were connected and I feel like he was in both.
00:33:40
Speaker
And for some reason, I thought that he was playing the same character. I don't know. I thought i thought that was a thing. Oh, I can't remember. I haven't seen Valentine's Day or New Year's Day. Yeah, I haven't seen it in a while. i haven't seen it in while. I'm sorry.
00:33:51
Speaker
Yeah, and and then you have like the comedy comedies that are romantic comedies. You have one of the greatest of all time in in um ah There's Something About Mary. You have Me, Myself, and Irene.
00:34:03
Speaker
You have The Heartbreak Kid. You have Knocked Up. You have Along Came Polly. You have The 40-O Virgin. You know like you have these movies that are just like... That they're like comedy comedies, but there's a romantic aspect that and angle to it.
00:34:17
Speaker
You know what I mean? And and even within those movies, there's like a little there's ah there's a moral, which is really good. You know what I mean? like Those are the things that I feel like we're missing, dude. like like like what have have we And I remember the word. Remember when we were talking about um the example of of that Koi Jandro said?
00:34:35
Speaker
i remember oh yeah. Have we been desensitized to romance on the big screen? to romance on the big screen Because we haven't been getting it. Like, I gave Mel the example of ah one of these YouTubers that we we we really appreciate. His name is Koi Jandro. And he was talking
Loss of Romantic Storytelling in Modern Cinema
00:34:53
Speaker
about... ah He was reviewing Superman. And he was talking about the scene where Clark went to Lois' apartment. And you see that they were getting a little intimate. And barely intimate. We know what intimate is. But they were... you know They were like chiss kissing. lunch They were kissing and...
00:35:07
Speaker
You see, there's a deliberate shot that James Gunn put in where you see Clark kind of put his hand behind ah Lois' is back to kind of like draw her in. And Koi Jandro made this amazing point of like, oh, wow, this is getting steamy and and this and that. And they say it's like, yeah are we going to go there? You know, it doesn't have a movie. And it didn't go there, obviously.
00:35:26
Speaker
But then it's funny that he said that because I thought the same thing. i'm like, oh, wow, okay. Yeah. And it's like, I'm like, damn, like, is this how bad it's been for us that we automatically, because we see a hand go on the back, it's like, oh, it's kind of like back in the day when you see that a young lady will wear a skirt that was like just below the knee and she'll just hike it up just a little bit. Oh, she's showing her knee.
00:35:48
Speaker
Like, I mean, have we been, is this is this what's going on with us? Like, Like, I want to go deeper in this topic of romantic comedy because I'm i'm wondering, is there a connection to it?
00:35:59
Speaker
Has studios desynthesized us as general audiences to what it is to be in love and intimate and have moments of passion on screen? Clearly you haven't seen Bridgerton. I'm not talking about like, yeah, well,
00:36:16
Speaker
No, no, listen. Listen, what did you just say? What show did you just say? Bridgerton. What's it on? Netflix. Okay. I didn't say Netflix. I said on the big screen. On the big screen. Oh, I guess that's true. said on the big screen. Because it's like, we don't see that. and And again, I'm not talking about like, you know, freaking like hardcore sex or 50 Shades of Grey type thing.
00:36:37
Speaker
No. talking about like, The subtle stuff of romance, which I feel like we are kind of, we don't get that. You're right. were right we We barely see that in in a lot of movies. like we are We're more keen to see you know the guy gets the guy or girl get shot in the face or something blowing up or someone dying because of a disease.
00:37:00
Speaker
But we don't really get the scene of like intimacy. where you see a couple in love, no matter, you know, what, what, uh, what gender they are yeah of, of just embracing each other. We don't see that on a big screen like that.
00:37:15
Speaker
And that's part of the aspect of our, think about it. We're talking about romantic comedies, keyword romantic, romance. We're not, we don't see that. And I feel like that is a big injustice to us as a society because it's like It's like the last episode we had where we talked about, like where Seth MacFarlane had said, you know, wherere there's certain things that we, and that we and he said when he said we, he said the studios have done as a service to audiences is we have not been giving people hope. We have not been giving people examples of of something to attain, to believe to.
00:37:51
Speaker
Everything's been so dark and so gritty and so realistic. We forget that movies are forms of escape-ism for people. and and And what if one of those things is is this aspect of love, this aspect of romance?
00:38:06
Speaker
You know, like, think about it. Right now, in in um and I'm talking clearly in the U.S., don't know how it is in Canada, we have a declining birth rate for the first time in a long, long time.
00:38:17
Speaker
Oh, really? And it says a lot about where we are at as a society, where you're seeing a lot more... um young people make the decision of like, yeah, I'm not, I'm not, not having kids I'm not having kids. I don't want to. And granted, listen, that could be for a number of reasons. That could be because maybe some people can't, but that's a possibility.
00:38:39
Speaker
Or some people say, I can't do it because financially I can't afford it, which is also a obvious big um excuse. Cause that's that not an excuse, a reason because that's a fact, but,
00:38:52
Speaker
Again, what's going on with that? You look at you look at you look at the dating scenes now. you know Everything is, oh, did you get on the app? Did you get on this app? This app? Did you swipe left? Did you swipe right? but like We're missing out on what it was or what it's supposed to be when you meet someone.
00:39:11
Speaker
We've made it almost robotic. And when you make something robotic, you lose the soul. And to bring it back, because I've been talking a lot, is...
00:39:22
Speaker
Have movies lost their soul? Has their past movies lost the soul? Has it become too robotic? Has become too mechanicalized?
00:39:35
Speaker
And is it something where we're missing that? and i And now enough that I really think about it, I think that's i think that's the case. I think once when we get films that make us feel some kind of way a little bit uncomfortable and stuff, that's kind of the soul of like, no, this is real. This is coming from a real place.
00:39:55
Speaker
But when you get kind of this cookie cutter machine-like thing, there is no soul to it. And Mel, you're an actress. isn't isn't every performance, every form of art, a piece of soul, a piece of ah ah of a human, ah something real, something fluid?
00:40:13
Speaker
It's not just like, you know, straight lines and that's it. No, there's curves, there's sharp edges, there's roundness, there's everything to it. And I'm thinking...
00:40:24
Speaker
Is that what's going on? Like, why are these studios so afraid to remind us human beings that it's okay to fall in love? It's okay to experience heartbreak.
00:40:37
Speaker
It's okay to go out on a date and have a great time. It's okay to go out on date and have a bad time. But let's put this out there because so it's almost like we as a society forgot how to live.
00:40:49
Speaker
hu It's actually funny that you're talking about that because, you know, its especially about the dating thing, because that's what materialist was, if you think about it, right? You know, what what's her name? The director?
00:41:00
Speaker
What's her name? I forgot her name. Yeah, but you know like that was like her thing. you know like That was like what she wanted to to really have the audiences you know really take from the movie, right? Yeah, the yeah yeah, yeah, I remember.
00:41:15
Speaker
it is interesting It is interesting that you're talking about that because i even though that movie wasn't a rom-com, it was really a you know shining a light on the society. It was. The dating world that we're But we said it. We said that the movie, the movie i I think with Materialist, the reason we felt so disappointed by that movie is because we were sold the bill of goods. We were sold that this was supposed to be a romantic comedy.
00:41:39
Speaker
And it wasn't that. And I think when you go into a movie like that, thinking it's going to be something like that and not getting that, it's a very tough movie. pill to swallow. Yeah, like you're kind of like, wait, what? Like, yeah it wasn't bad, but it just wasn't what we expecting. I agree with you. There was a lot of really good conversation that could come out of it. And I think if it was presented in that way, I think it would have been better.
00:42:01
Speaker
But it wasn't. And yeah um to me, that was the exact of the the fault of that movie. The fault, yeah, exactly. But yeah, Mel, I just, i i think there's I think there's the soul of of movies and and the soul that it takes to make romantic comedies, I just think it's not there anymore. I think um i think it's gone and it's that breaks my heart man yeah it breaks my heart because you know we're a society built on love shit the reason you and I are here is because our parents you know got it got it on you know what I mean like yeah this is this is this is what this is what human history is about it's about romance it's about love you know the reason wars happen is is because of love you know yeah there's greed and
00:42:41
Speaker
That's a big part of it too. And control. That's another big part of it. But, but there is a love, a love of country, a love of, of, of protection, you know, like, like we just think about what it is.
00:42:52
Speaker
And, and, and I think that, I think we need more of that. Yeah. And, and, you know, it's, it's, I'm so glad you brought that up because while you were thinking about it, about how like, oh, in, you know, you're in the big screen and are you watching in Superman? You were like, oh my God, like,
00:43:07
Speaker
Oh, like they're kissing. Like, oh my God, like what's going on? And, you know, and and it's I think also because superhero movies don't tend to have that, right?
00:43:17
Speaker
That's not something that we've like, you know, the MCU really shies away from. really shies away remember what a big deal it was in Eternals when they like had sex and they're like oh my god the first like sex scene in a superhero and it was like people were like baffled by this and I'm like so what you're saying like superheroes can't fall in love like and I don't know if it's just like I don't know if it's just because it's Disney so they're just like trying to get things PG. But like, you know, like if you think about, um um because it is true, I think as a whole, like if you think about like all the, like if we're talking about like the MCU, right?
00:43:57
Speaker
There wasn't really that much romance. Like romance. Very, very... Even with Tony Stark and Pepper, right? They didn't really have... It was so like surface level. It was so basic. It was very, very basic. like it like You never ever saw them like really... like you know, like that that real connection. like There wasn't that... and And it's not that there wasn't chemistry because there was clearly chemistry. They're both tremendous actors. But it's a different type of chemistry that didn't come off. Like, yeah, you felt bad for Pepper when Toni died because that was her person.
00:44:35
Speaker
But it was a person through a different way. It wasn't through intimacy. It wasn't through moments of romance. It was, it was you know... Yeah, it was just different. but I think you're right. Well, well no, we did get a little bit of romance, but not much with Captain but captain i'm kaggy and and Peggy. But it wasn't enough, though. It wasn't enough. It was just like, oh, yeah, he loves her, and she loves him. But they never had, like, we never got anything really with them. And I mean, that is the tragedy of Captain America with that aspect. Yeah, it is. It is. It is. But, you know, and um it's funny that you say that, too, because to bring it back to the dc to dc
00:45:13
Speaker
You saw that in Superman and and and in Superman, I think that's one of the reasons I love Superman because... We got that. We got that. We got that. You know, we saw the love. and And at the end, the big thing at the end, yeah the thing and they were kissing and they were flying. It was beautiful.
00:45:31
Speaker
yeah it was beautiful And to me, that was actually a throwback to the original Superman with Christopher Riege and Margot Kidder. they were Both of them were very much like that in that movie. There was a romantic aspect to it, which made it beautiful.
00:45:43
Speaker
yeah Yeah. We never got that with any of the other Superman. No, we didn't we didn't get that. well and yeah Yeah, no, we didn't. We didn't. like Maybe in Man of Steel, there was something there, but it wasn't... I don't know. just it didn't It didn't do it with the way this one did it. This one this one just felt good.
00:46:04
Speaker
It felt so good. Like, even, I will say, though, like, I think chemistry is very important. It important. And they both really had that. And I think it made this, it sells the scene, it sells them as a couple even better. And I think because their chemistry was so good, it really, like, oh, my God, like, it gave me feels. What did see? Because...
00:46:27
Speaker
Did you ever get to see... Not everyone can have the chemistry. No. Unfortunately. Like, you can be great actors. du You can have two amazing actors on screen. they don't have the chemistry. they can have zero chemistry. Like, the yeah like it just doesn't click. And that's unfortunate.
00:46:41
Speaker
Like, did you... so i don't know if you saw... It made the rounds um right around the same time when Superman was out on digital. They had released behind-the-scenes footage. And... um It was a scene, the scene that was talking about where Clark and and and and Lois were in in her apartment. They were getting into him.
00:46:59
Speaker
And it was like a scene where they were doing that scene where they were kissing and stuff. And James Gunn yelled, cut. And um Rachel Rohan's in like... Kept kissing him.
00:47:11
Speaker
and It was like... It was like... It was like... And then she kind of She went... And she went like that. It was really cute. But... Internet... Internet... Internet... Gonna Internet... Yeah. heard about this.
00:47:21
Speaker
These on the internet, they're assholes. I wouldn't have done this. I heard about this, Like, they went and they reached out to her. They... To her husband or something. I was like, dude, you guys... Like... Like... This is why I said, Mel, we need we need more love in movies because this is ridiculous, yo.
00:47:37
Speaker
These are literally... These are the people that live in the basement that can't get anybody that are just like... They're the monkeys. They're monkeys from Superman. They're the monkeys from Superman.
00:47:49
Speaker
that did that. I'm like, first of all, she's a freaking actress. He's an actor. This is their entire lives. This is not just this movie. This is what they've done with their entire lives. Do you not think that their partners are going to be okay with it? well That's their line of work?
00:48:03
Speaker
You know what I'm saying? like Please, just leave that shit at the door. but that's all You're right about chemistry. you know another Another movie that I'll bring into a DC movie is The Batman, where you saw with Catwoman and... and and And Batman, like you saw this, like this.
Revitalizing Romantic Comedies through Genre Blending
00:48:21
Speaker
Oh yeah. You saw this, this, this,
00:48:24
Speaker
you saw this this this tension Like it was clear sexual tension throughout the entire world. But if you understand the character of Batman and Catwoman, that's pretty much it. like therere that Those two are interlinked through love in everything, in every aspect. You know what I mean?
00:48:42
Speaker
But in that movie, it comes across so much, you know, almost to at the end of the movie where she tells him, like, you know, like, why don't you, you know, I'm i'm going to Bloodhaven when I want you to come with me.
00:48:53
Speaker
And, you know, she looks up at him and as she sees him looking at the bat signal in the Gotham sky. And and she says, you know, um ah verbatim, I'm going, she says something along the lines of like, oh, you know, I forgot your your take, your, your called for already. The city has you.
00:49:10
Speaker
And it's just like, yeah it's a, it's a powerful line because it's heartbreaking. Yeah. It's almost like, but it's almost like she knows that she can't compete with the city. Yeah. Yeah. She can't as much as she wants them to be together forever and and causing trouble. Like she said, she knows I can't compete with, with her, the city, the city, the city has you.
00:49:33
Speaker
And it's, again, it's heartbreaking. It's a beautiful line, but it's also one of those things where it's like, you know, whenever you're, whenever you're done, you can come and find me. Yeah. And that's almost her saying, I will wait for you, which is beautiful.
00:49:45
Speaker
And, and yeah, like you said, it's like, like, I think the studio needs, studios need to find ways of putting these in and disguising them and stuff. Like, like for instance, like you have all these superhero movies are a thing right now.
00:49:58
Speaker
Um, um sneak them Sneak more romantic stories into it. Put it in there. Stuff it in there. Not everything has to just be, you know, oh, my identity. And the world is coming to an end. You know, like it could be something as simple as love. Like, there's... Go ahead, ahead, ma.
00:50:18
Speaker
I was going to say, and this is like so funny because I was just like rethinking about it. And you're like, oh, let's just add like romance in it. K-pop demon hunters. Like that movie did not have to have any romance whatsoever, but somehow, somehow it does. And you like, like it hits you. And i'm like, this is an animated film. Why am I like, oh my God, they're falling in love.
00:50:42
Speaker
Oh my God. Like, It's so beautiful. It's so beautiful. It's done so well. They didn't have to do that. No, they didn't. No. And they did. And that's a movie technically about superheroes in a way, right? Yeah. And like they just like snuck it in and it still like hits you. like You're like, oh oh my God. well um Another movie, now that you mention it, another animated movie that had this that It's snuck in there, but it works and it's romantic.
00:51:11
Speaker
WALL-E. WALL-E was a- Oh, yeah. WALL-E was a romantic movie disguised as a kid's film. Yeah, you're right. Because have these two robots and WALL-E's in love with Eve. Everything he did was for Eve.
00:51:26
Speaker
And she was so annoyed with him. But she freaking loved WALL-E. It was so beautiful. And again, it was ah it was a romantic angle snucked into a kid's movie.
00:51:37
Speaker
You know, Shrek. Shrek was that. Shrek, listen. Shrek qualifies as a romantic comedy. It really does. Again, it's a romantic comedy um ah hidden in a in a goofball kid's movie.
00:51:52
Speaker
But it worked. And it is romantic. Especially part two. Part two is very, very romantic. Part one has romance. part two is like, it's it's Shrek coming to grips of wanting to be better and do something to for for Fiona's family to accept him. you know like And he does all these... like it's Again, It's a part romance man like it's ah it's a part of It's a part of storytelling.
00:52:15
Speaker
You can't have a story and have it be like, oh, there the hero or the heroine and and this is the big bad and the world's going to end and that's it. No. There has to be connection. There has to be a connection. There has has to be a glue there and the glue has to be love.
00:52:31
Speaker
We need to bring that back into play. We need to. We need to. And again, it can be done in a dramatic aspect. It could also be done in a comedic aspect.
00:52:42
Speaker
You can do this in so many ways. You can sprinkle it in so many ways because that's a beautiful thing about romance. And and in in our case, we're talking about rom-coms. Rom-coms can be sprinkled in in so many ways. Like I said, man, you have you had goofball comedies.
00:52:56
Speaker
ah American Pie is a goofball, raunchy comedy, but there's a romance aspect to it that became a coming-of-age story. You know what mean? Something About Mary is another one. She's a raunchy, goofball comedy, but there's a romance aspect to it. You know what I mean?
00:53:13
Speaker
um there' it's It's a vital part of storytelling because you as an audience member watching these movies, you have to feel the need of like, what is the purpose?
00:53:24
Speaker
What is this person, this protagonist fighting for? What are they fighting for? What are they in it for? Yes, I understand. Yeah, maybe it's ah it's a race against time.
00:53:35
Speaker
Or maybe it's, you know, like I said, there's an existential threat that's going to affect the people of this world. But I need more. i need I need a connection of of yeah of love and stuff to it. you know And and you know like again, the love aspect could come from a lot of ways. It could be you know ah between two partners.
00:53:56
Speaker
It could be between you know a parent you know because you have you have that love aspect like Interstellar where where you know he went he when he did this mission, but everything he did was for the love of his children. You know what I mean? Love for humanity.
00:54:08
Speaker
But you know in this case, we're talking about from a romantic aspect. you know um and And it's just, has to it has to be added more in films, man. like We need more of this. The world right now, the world needs this.
00:54:22
Speaker
Because we are we are in really, really difficult, tough times. And the world needs examples of of just love for each other and one another.
00:54:35
Speaker
Yeah. No, I mean, it it it is true. Like, I'm thinking about, you know all the movies that, you know, we watch in the movie theater. And, you know, other than, like, you know, I'm trying to think. What was the last thing I saw in the movie theater?
00:54:48
Speaker
Taylor Swift, but that's not. What was the last thing I saw, like, movie movie that I saw before this? I can't really remember. It was the summer. So it was like all blockbusters, right? There was no like, you know, even this is like, I don't know why I'm thinking about this, but um Jurassic, Jurassic World, and the newest one, right?
00:55:10
Speaker
Like that movie to me was really, when it comes to the romance part, like if there was any like romance in it, like To me, I feel there was like wanted it,
00:55:24
Speaker
but then it never happened. I felt it was very bland, and I didn't know why. like They could have added like a romantic element between Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey, because I felt like it was kind of like they were trying to set that up, but nothing ever... It didn't go... It was they...
00:55:44
Speaker
it's are they are they is And that's what I'm saying. Why are they so afraid of this? Like, why? i Embrace it. Freaking embrace it. What are you so scared of with It was really weird. It was like, I was like, are they supposed to be romantic?
00:56:00
Speaker
And then nothing ever happens. And I'm like. Oh, another example. Fantastic Four. Fantastic Four. why not lean into Why not lean into more of the romantic aspect of of of of Human Torch and and Silver Surfer?
00:56:15
Speaker
Because there was a thing there. Yeah. Why not lean into it more? like Why not go into that more? Yeah, that's true. They could have done that. They could have done that and added another 10, 15 minutes to the movie. It could have fleshed it out given him giving it giving it a little more a little bit more Because I think that's what that movie that movie, I feel like that movie was missing soul. it did it Sad.
00:56:37
Speaker
It was ah had a good base, but the soul of the movie was kind of empty. Outside of Sue Storm and Sue Storm being a mom and carrying the baby, which is which was... The main part. Yeah, the main thing that was, but the the other, it was very soulless.
00:56:54
Speaker
And I feel like that could have added more soul. If you had to a romantic angle to that. I mean, granted, listen, I understand well the movie is not about human torture and silver surfer, but they are and but part of the movie. They're a vital parts of the movie. Yeah.
00:57:06
Speaker
I was gonna say they were both very ah like a big viral part to this yeah yeah so they could done that listening to her like you know seeing her for the first time and being like falling in love with but when he saw her like it was like oh my god we like this like what's going on right yeah like there was still something there yeah and that's a good point yeah that's Yeah, you know, we we in another movie we saw that we loved this summer was F1.
00:57:29
Speaker
There was a bit of a romantic angle there with yeah with Brad Pitt and his and his race engineer. You know, that that kind of gave the movie little bit more of like an emotional kind of thing it. And again, that's why I said movies need these sorts of things.
00:57:43
Speaker
yeah As cookie cutter as you may think it is, It's actually not. it's it's it's a It's a good thing, especially if it's done right. Don't get me wrong. If you do it and it's forced, then I understand. Okay, it ruins it.
00:57:53
Speaker
But if you do it right, you can weave you can weave that that thread in really nicely. you might not have You don't even have to dedicate much to it, but if you put it in key points... It's enough su to weave a nice thread and remind us, oh, so this character is in it for this reason, but this character is also interested in this person who's a vital part of this thing. And together they came they they they they they had a breakthrough and and in the process they fall in love and that and that's fine.
00:58:22
Speaker
Again, the falling in love aspect doesn't have to be the main part of the story. No one's saying that. But you can include these sorts of things because these are examples that you can give to your audience members of their own lives, man. Like I said, we watch movies to escape.
00:58:35
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Listen, I work every day. You work every day. We go out in public. I don't face an existential threat every day, okay? I don't have... you know, a thousand foot creature that's coming in to take over the world.
00:58:48
Speaker
You know what I mean? i don't have that. You know what I have? I'm a father and I'm a husband and I deal with things and within that aspect.
Successful Genre-Blending Rom-Com Examples
00:58:56
Speaker
Give me examples of that, you know, within these movies that you're trying to give us.
00:59:01
Speaker
Cause you can, you can do that. It's, it's, it can be done. It can be done. And when it comes to romantic comedies, That's why I think we hold them so dear, and that's why we care about them. That's why always ask the question of, like why isn't this movie coming out? like like For instance, like I and just did a Google search for a Romantic Congress 2025.
00:59:20
Speaker
The first one that came up yeah was materialist, which we already said. yeah But then the ah majority of these are literally all straight to streamers. maybe maybe there's Maybe there's one or two that are like or three that are like theater releases.
00:59:38
Speaker
But then you know what I'm seeing, Mel? know what any of these are. Okay, this is what I'm seeing here. Now, this is where it's getting very, very interesting. you mentioned K-pop demon hunters. I am seeing a lot of Korean um ah films.
00:59:53
Speaker
I think in Korea, romantic comedies are a big, big deal. And also a lot of movies from India, a lot of Bollywood movies. I think romantic comedies are a big deal there too. Like it seems like a lot of the foreign, um ah kind of ah foreign ah parts of the world, romantic comedies are still a big thing, which I'm happy for that.
01:00:17
Speaker
Cause again, I'm looking here and it's like, there are a bunch of Korean, there's a bunch of Korean films. Here's a bunch of Bollywood films here. Like, there's more Korean and Bollywood films here than I see, like, quote-unquote, know. I see them, yeah.
01:00:29
Speaker
Western films. Yeah, there's some here that put in as romantic comedies. I was like, my Oxford ear not a romantic comedy. Yeah, there's a bunch here. I see that, yeah. I heard that was a good time movie. I'm like, don't know if that's... But...
01:00:42
Speaker
my fault London not really it's romance but the wrong Paris yeah we're probably looking at the same list but um yeah like yeah no I do agree I think with um I think romance is like a really big big thing with um with Korean drama, like a lot Korean, like there's a lot of Korean like dramas and romantic comedies are really, really, really popular. People always tell me like, oh my God, you have to watch like Korean dramas. They're so good. You would love them. And I was like, really? Like everyone, cause they are like, they know that like that stuff. They're like, you have to watch Korean dramas. They're so good. I think so. I think they're, they're very, they're very popular. Mackenzie and Alfa are watching one on Netflix. forgot what it's called, it's interesting.
01:01:20
Speaker
No, no, no. It wasn't that. It was a, it was it was movie from there. Oh, it's a movie. Yeah, it was a movie. It was really good. like I was into it. I couldn't... say I had to to bed. Was it in Korean? Yeah, it was in Korean. but Oh, yeah. I don't know. I was like... But it was... Yeah, it was a very simple movie. Like, you know, to these kids up there in the school and ah mom the mom of the of the main character is like a hairdresser. And this one girl...
01:01:48
Speaker
um I think what it is is that this girl, her hair super curly and everybody over there has straight hair. And like this, the mom of the, of the, of the main character, she has like this, like really like magical, like shampoo that's supposed to straighten out the hair. So you think it, you're like, Oh, this kind of, but it's, but it's not that it's just that it's the process of, of, of your typical process of, you know, ah you know, girl wants to do this to impress this boy. Yeah. She ends up falling and falling in love with the other boy that she wasn't really interested in the first place.
01:02:25
Speaker
but Is it a movie? Is this a movie? It's a movie. I'll get off the name so you can watch it. I think you would like it. it's good but so It was cute. you know But then that's just one of many. Like I said, yeah Korean and and and the Bollywood ones, are're like therere it's so much.
01:02:40
Speaker
And it's like i'm like I'm like, man, I remember when we used to have this stuff. like I remember when it was like a bunch of movies that was just... Like this simple, simple ass, like, like, think about it, like, Confessions of a Shopaholic. Like, you think about that. You know what I mean? Like, think about all these things. at this. want to tell just want, because I have a list of, like, romantic comedies for, like, every year. Like, or, like, just really popular ones. So, just in 2004 alone, we had Princess Diaries 2, Cinderella Story, 13 Going on 30, and Win a Date with Tad Hamilton.
01:03:11
Speaker
That's a Sleepover. um i mean, The Notebook. doesn't really out Chasing Liberty. remember that. Raise Your Voice. love Chasing Liberty. All of these movies were in 2004. In we had Monster-in-Law. We had Just Like Heaven,
01:03:28
Speaker
perfect man fifty first dates um Hitch, Mel. Hitch. Oh, Hitch. Yeah. Hitch was awesome. Like, so, so many movies. 2002, we had Sweet Home Alabama, Crossroads, A Walk to Remember, Bend It Like Beckham, Made in Manhattan, True Weeks, Notom. That's one of my all-time favorites, Mel. I love Bend It Like Beckham. I love See, that's a movie that has romance in it, and it's about freaking soccer. It's soccer, but there's also cultural stuff. It's a beautiful kind of thing. Oh, another movie that that's kind of like ah a fantasy sci-fi one that's a romantic comedy was Kate and Leopold.
01:04:13
Speaker
think I've ever seen that. Yeah, you could. I know what it is. It's with Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman that Hugh Jackman is from like like New York from like the 19th century. And he comes back and he's in the future with with Meg Ryan and stuff. And you know it's him and his ways trying to adjust to a modern New York.
01:04:32
Speaker
like the Like, again, you can take these... you can take these these um ah the idea of a romantic comedy and bend it and twist it around and and make it into something else within a different genre and it'll work.
01:04:45
Speaker
It will literally work. It brings it back to that movie we talked about which was About Time which is very much like it really is really starts off with that romantic comedy-esque thing and then Yeah, you put in like time travel with it and then a really beautiful message about living about living your life and in every moment of the day. and like It's also very touching, heartfelt, all of it.
01:05:11
Speaker
Enchanted is a film that is another thing where it's like it's it's it's it's a smorgasbord of movie where it's an animated movie. but it's also a a a coming of age tale but it's also like a romantic romantic film it's like a lot of things but it worked and it worked beautifully to the point where um uh amy adams was nominated for best actress for that film like it was yo it was like golden globes yeah yeah yeah like it's it's crazy when you think about that you know like and you think about all these big hits that these movies were like you were made in manhattan was a big Oh, yeah. i mean what women What Women Want with Mel Gibson. I love that movie. Yo, great film. Dude, My Big Fat Greek Wedding was massive when it came out.
01:05:59
Speaker
And you want to talk about a little film. That was a little film. like Yeah, that was. That was that on a minuscule budget. I remember because I think Rita Wilson... umma produced it.
01:06:11
Speaker
She was producer on it. She's Greek and she's very close with um the main actress who's also obviously Greek. Correct me if I'm... I think that the movie, the house where the movie was shot, I think that was ah rita will Rita Wilson's house. and think that was their house or something like that.
01:06:33
Speaker
And like... It was done in a very low budget, but that movie was a massive success. Like it made out. Yeah. I mean, they're crap ton of money. Yeah. And, you know, again, that's a, that's a, room that is the epitome of romantic comedy. Like I saw it, I remember we saw it over the summer and it was such a beautiful in film. And it's like, it's, it's so nice. It's in every aspect, you know what I mean? Like there's so many things, another, you know, another recent romantic comedy um that people don't talk about, but it is kind of romantic comedy. um
01:07:05
Speaker
Pitch Perfect. Pitch Perfect is another film that was very indie, very small. That came out of nowhere. Yeah. The film out of nowhere was a massive hit. Massive hit. But there's a romantic comedy. There is, Yeah.
01:07:19
Speaker
You know, like there's so much in that, in that vein of what, of what romance and romantic comedy is, you know, whatever, Mel, what are our, what are my favorites that i always joke with you about?
01:07:30
Speaker
Step up, step up to the streets. You know, the dance genre. What was the other famous dance genre one that they always make fun of? um yeah There's another one with Julia Stiles. What is it called? Oh, Save the Last Dance.
01:07:46
Speaker
That one gets me fun of so much today. But still, though. With the dancing at Juilliard. They're like, what the hell is They're like, this? This is what got her into Juilliard? This crap?
01:07:59
Speaker
But, you know, that was kind of like a... That wasn't a comedy. No, wasn't a comedy, but it was like a romance. Oh, it was definitely a romance. Yeah, there's a romance there. Like, it's just, you know... Dude. Like, to me, it's like... I'm like, how are we missing on all this? Like, how are we not getting more things like this where the movies shy away? Why are movies shying away?
01:08:24
Speaker
You know? Like, one of the one of the... Obviously, one of the queens of... of romantic comedies in the 90s is Julia Roberts. Julia Roberts was in a bunch of romance romantic comedies. What was it? My Best Friend's My Best Friend's Wedding. Runaway Bride. these films, they're like...
01:08:41
Speaker
like all these films they're just like They're amazing films. They're funny, but they're also very thought-provoking. you know like you know Like Runaway Bride, if you if you really look deep into Runaway Bride, it's a story about about this woman trying to find herself and the idea of who she is because all she was trying to do was cater to the men she was with and she lost herself in the process. yeah I mean i thought that was
Evolving Perceptions of Romance
01:09:07
Speaker
thought that was really good. you know what i mean for For what it was at the time, i thought that was pretty damn good. and When you think about it,
01:09:14
Speaker
now as an adult and you have gone through relationships or you're married and you think about the like, Oh shit. Like this is like, this is some like existential shit right here. You know what I mean? is Like, yeah. Yeah. It's, it's, it's, it's, it's a lot. And I think that's one of the things with us. I think we look at romantic comedies of romance in general is like we're looking at it now from the prism of, of a grown adult who has experienced, you know, love heartbreak, who's experienced highs and lows and,
01:09:43
Speaker
And we understand all these aspects. Because I think when we were younger, we looked at it from, quote unquote, virgin eyes or unjaded eyes of what it is to be romantic or what it is to be in love with someone.
01:09:56
Speaker
So our our whole process of what being in love is, is, oh man, you know, I want to find a ah partner. I want to find a girl who resembles X, Y, and Z. And I want to have a relationship and I want to have a- like that yeah and that's what we ah we tried to attain to yeah and sometimes you know life was smacking up
01:10:18
Speaker
you know but at least we had at least we had that i'm looking at i'm like what do these people have now what do y'all have now what the kardashians that's what y'all fucking attain into you know the ig models that you see like that's what you attain to that's what like i'm like i'm like that's not like that's that at least at least what we had had substance there was a story to it You know, like what you guys looking at is reality stars are what you're attaining to.
01:10:43
Speaker
and And as we know, reality is is even more fake than movies. You know what I mean? Like, yeah, yeah like reality stars are faker. That's how I see it. You know what mean? Oh, yeah. You have my love. You have my love. You have love is blind.
01:10:57
Speaker
yeah yeah love is blind i have to i have to watch the season haven't watched it yet i heard it's a horrible season no everyone's 17 again mel 17 again awesome freaking movie dude oh uh come on the golden years the golden years of zach you know what i mean old lizzie mcguire move the lizzie mcguire movie lizzie mcguire movie Do I? I think i watched just recently. Do I remember? Of course I remember. i know like There's so many good things. you know like and Another movie, which was ah which was a romantic comedy musical, which is based off a Broadway, Hairspray. Hairspray, romance was a big part of it. Very funny.
01:11:38
Speaker
But also, you know obviously, good music, but also a very good message about the civil rights movement and what it was to be different. You know what I mean? I mean, also another Zac Efron movie.
01:11:49
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, you know what I was going to bring up? Speaking of musicals, well, The Greatest Showman. Speaking of Zac Efron, why not? That's also a fantastic romantic movie. Fantastic film.
01:12:00
Speaker
um Wicked 2. So Wicked for Good yes is coming out. already got my tickets and I got them in IMAX. I'm so excited. i am happy. You need to see it on IMAX. You have to. I'm so excited. I got my tickets. I'm going with one of my friends, and we're going to watch it opening day on the 21st at 7 p.m. in IMAX. I'm so excited.
01:12:20
Speaker
glad. I am so glad. um um I think we're going to do the same thing. We're going to go opening day to go see it on IMAX as well. You better go get your tickets. We're going to definitely go. I'm counting down today's.
01:12:34
Speaker
um But what i was going say was in Wicked for Good, so people are like, well, John M. Chu also talked about this, and it was like about the romance aspect. I haven't heard about this. but like So in the musical, don't know, it's been forever forever since I've seen it, or i don't know if you remember, but in the musical, in the second part, um technically, like, Fierro and Elphaba, like, they have, like, this one song, As Long As You're Mine, which is, like,
01:12:59
Speaker
what everyone is looking forward to. And like one of the songs that everyone's really looking forward to in this film, is it's like one of the most like beautiful romantic songs, like ever for like musicals.
01:13:10
Speaker
And um technically in the scene, if you watch it on Broadway, it's just like, like the characters like have like their intimate moment, but it's like the only thing before shit hits the fan.
01:13:21
Speaker
um But supposedly in this movie, it's going to be a little bit more intimate than it was in the actual thing. And everyone's like freaking out about it because they're like, Oh my God, are they going to, are they, are they going to like actually show it?
01:13:37
Speaker
like it's I mean, they're not going to show them. No, no. But, you know, like it's I think in the musical, I think if they just like kiss and then it's like end of scene and and it's just like implied that they that they were intimate. Yeah, that they were intimate together.
01:13:52
Speaker
But I think in this movie, supposedly like It's that going to show a lot more. And john M. Chu like really talked about how like it is going to be a little bit more um diving into the scene. And everybody's freaking out. bet. I bet you...
01:14:08
Speaker
i bet i bet you anything, that man had to fight to have that shit in there. i can almost I could almost imagine the fight he had with the studio of trying to get that scene in there.
01:14:20
Speaker
Like, if we had John M. True on this show, he would probably be like, yes, yes, and yes. I had to fight to get that scene in there. To get that scene in. We said it. Like, we don't get scenes like that anymore.
01:14:31
Speaker
No, we don't. We don't. and we You don't, like, you really, like, and even the first movie, in the first movie, it was It's very, very subtle as well.
01:14:43
Speaker
Very, very subtle. but with the mom With the mom and the... Well, with them, but also with like even Elphaban Fiera, right? Because that is like the main... like Even though he is like with Glinda, you know that he is like falling in love with Elphaban. You know that Elphaban is falling in love with him. But even like in that movie, like it's very... like Their scene time was very short.
01:15:08
Speaker
Like, very, very – like, I wish there was more and, it like, really curse my soul because I don't – at the same time, right, they're also adapting this from, like, a musical, right? So
Influence of Me Too Movement on Romance Portrayal
01:15:17
Speaker
they're trying to keep things as faithful as – to the musical as possible by also adding even more scenes or little underlayers and they can't just always focus on Fierro and Elphaba, right? But even them, like, in the movie, like, if you think – if you remember it, like – their scene together is actually very short. It's a very short scene. So I am looking forward to this like second movie where I hope that they'll add a little bit more depth to their relationship to like, to the point where you actually like, like it is devastating in a way, right. To like what happens to him.
01:15:55
Speaker
Um, But, like, I don't know. i have I have no idea. But, like, yeah, I thought what you had mentioned but before, i was like, oh, that's interesting because in Wicked, like, it's a huge thing that now, like, they're actually showing some, like, a little bit more of like, an intimate scene.
01:16:09
Speaker
Like, how intimate? I don't know. they I don't know how much they're going to show or what they're actually going to show. But supposedly it is a little bit more, much more intimate than it is in the Broadway musical. Yeah. So...
01:16:20
Speaker
um People are crazy about it. People are like noticing him in scenes. They're like, she's sleeping on a bed with him. He's shirtless. People are freaking out about it because it's also Jonathan Bailey. Bailey, yeah, of course.
01:16:33
Speaker
Yeah. like but Let me ask you this. and and you know because you Talking about that just brought me back to the whole our whole conversation at the beginning when was talking about what's wrong society now and stuff.
01:16:44
Speaker
And I made mention to this before we started recording. And I want to get your perspective on it because you're you're you're you're a young woman and and you know you you came into your life, your romantic life into in the era of what's called you know the Me Too movement and everything.
01:17:02
Speaker
And how much do you think the whole Me Too thing has to do with how studios approach what it is to be romantic now? Do you think that the studios are afraid of...
01:17:14
Speaker
Stepping into those lanes because of the whole aspect of how you approach a quote unquote person. Like if, you know, if I'm a guy and I see and i see a girl that I like.
01:17:26
Speaker
well Like, like how can i how can I put that in writing to not make it seem like the guy's a quote-unquote sleazeball or make it be like, well, no, this is how people naturally are.
01:17:36
Speaker
But are they naturally like that now because of how things are? Because, you know, think about it. when
Escapism and Modern Societal Norms
01:17:43
Speaker
we're we're now and It was funny at the time, but we're now in the era where people look back now on songs and they're like oh, this song is kind of like...
01:17:51
Speaker
this this guy's ah this this guy singing this song is a sleaze. Like, look listen to what he's saying, this and that. And it's like, you're like, yeah, but you... It's funny to laugh at it, but you can't judge this song off of that because it was a different time and it was a different era.
01:18:05
Speaker
But then it's like, this is what the song is. Like, you can't also take it literal. Literally, yeah. You know what I mean? So do you think that that whole Me Too era and the whole issue with, like, consent... Because my thing is, like, how do you, like...
01:18:21
Speaker
How, like, are studios really afraid of, like, having a writer say, well, we want you to have an intimate scene with a man and a woman or a woman and woman, a man and a man. And, like, how do we approach that? Are we supposed to have the person say, oh, can I do this? Like, because when you, like, that kind of takes things out of it, you know? Because remember, again, what I said, we go to movies to escape.
01:18:43
Speaker
So it's like it' like, how much of that do you think has affected how studios go forward with romance? Do you think that they're like, you know what, let's not... And maybe that's why we've gotten what we've gotten for the better of, you know, 10 plus years? Yeah.
01:19:00
Speaker
Oh, it's actually a good question. And it's I see two sides to this because i think... After the Me Too thing, I think now I think studios are definitely much more careful about it. But then that's why now I think women are much more um vocal about things. And also now they have such things as intimacy coordinators for this reason, right?
01:19:22
Speaker
You hear that word being thrown into and thrown into the conversation a lot when we talk about um romantic scenes that we do see on TV. It's always like, oh, well, it wasn't is it weird? Whatever. And, you know, they're always like, oh, well, we had an intimacy coordinator. We rehearsed it.
01:19:39
Speaker
You know, people will say, like, I know I make sure that I ask this person, like, if they're comfortable with doing X, Y, and Z. But and and it's interesting because, like, Movies like that are still being made and there is like, I think intimacy quarter coordinators are really, really being used now more than ever.
01:19:56
Speaker
But then we see things where like what happened with the whole drama with Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively, right? You have a situation like that where a studio, you know, studios are seeing this and they're like, Oh God, like even with intimacy coordinators, we can still,
01:20:12
Speaker
have this shit like all over our movie, which that is a whole bag of worms, that whole situation about the being but consent and feeling uncomfortable and that he made me feel this and blah, blah, blah, blah.
01:20:27
Speaker
So did it
Consent in Media and its Impact
01:20:28
Speaker
it's... it's but see honestly i come I think that... i'm coming from the aspect of the of the of the acting and in the actual production. I'm just talking you're thinking about the aspect of just the movie as a whole. Like...
01:20:41
Speaker
how are we presenting these characters in these movies or in these TV shows? Like, like, do you think that a lot of these studios have shied away from doing scenes like that because they don't want to have it be an uncomfortable situation? Like how I said about how, how now we look at old songs and we like, we make fun of it or we criticize it because yeah like like, do you think that people going to be like, Oh, well, but he didn't, he didn't ask for permission to take her to the bathroom and,
01:21:06
Speaker
you know, for them to have or whatever. You know, was that consensual? I didn't see him ask, you know, or I didn't see her ask. But whos she the way who's who's who's saying that? Anyone.
01:21:16
Speaker
Because, again, we're living now in a time where people on social media, on anything, will literally like take a song or something and they'll break it down and they'll be like, oh, like listen to what he's saying and this and that. You can't to the song anymore. so i With movies, I think, depending, i think I think writers are definitely much more conscious of that, about what they're writing.
01:21:39
Speaker
But at the end of the day, like something that's written... Like can be changed. It's just anything can be changed in in a writer's room. Right. If you write something and but then that' it's more about the direct, I think the direction and production at that point, they have to make the call as to like, if they can or.
01:21:57
Speaker
But that affects to me, that affects the, that affects the final product visually, because if I'm watching a movie and And there's, like we said, like in, for instance, in the Jurassic a World Rebirth, there's clear signs of like, there's something there between these two, but why don't we ever see it?
01:22:17
Speaker
Were the writers of that movie uncomfortable, like, oh, how do we present this? But it's this is a really good conversation. It is. You see what i'm saying conversation, yeah. Because, it's like like, it changes things, yeah. But the way I also, like, it's just because of, like, I'm also thinking about this movie, right? You have Scarlett Johansson, which is, like, one of the, like, she's, like, the highest paid woman in Hollywood right now, right I think that that just came out.
01:22:43
Speaker
yeah Like, you're telling me that she couldn't have just been like, hey, you know, I think what would work is XYZ. Was she producing that movie? Did she produce? i don't know. I don't know. I don't know. But anyway. But I don't know. Yeah.
01:22:55
Speaker
But like, I feel like from what I hear, whenever I hear like a lot of interviews, because i that's like because I'm always more like you are more behind, not more like in front, like. looking... one I hear a lot of like interviews with actors and stuff all the time.
01:23:09
Speaker
And from what I hear, it just seems like, especially with someone like a big name like Scarlett Johansson, usually they have a little bit more pull. They have more say, yeah. They have more say in things that they want or do not want to do. But...
01:23:21
Speaker
Like, unless, like, that was part of the story and she felt like, oh, i don't want to overcrowd it by making it romantic and they cut it. Like, I don't know. Because, like, also, like, her relationship with Jonathan Bailey doesn't seem like it wasn't a good relationship. They were fucking kissing on red carpets.
01:23:34
Speaker
So i I highly doubt she was like, no, I don't want to kiss Jonathan Bailey in the movie. But see, that's what I'm saying. I don't think... what i'm um What I'm talking about is... I'm not talking about from the aspect of the actor didn't want to do it.
01:23:46
Speaker
I'm talking about the aspect of the story... And how it's presented on screen. why Why wasn't that put in there where there was more of an angle? And again, I'm just not even just talking about... I don't think it's related to Me Too, though.
01:24:00
Speaker
like I don't think so. No, no. And again, I'm not talking about i'm not talking about just for this movie. I'm just talking about for any movie in general, anything going forward. Have studios in general, have they just...
01:24:12
Speaker
put their foot on, ah taking the foot off the gas and like say, any any scene that's romantic, you have to run it by the executive producer and they have to see if it works and if it doesn't work. I think- Like they have to put it like through, almost like, you know how they, what we said about the studio, how they actually have everybody go in and look at the movie.
01:24:31
Speaker
And, you know, you have Sal Saperstein there, like, yo, listen, that, you know, this is great. And then you have Catherine Han's character, like, what the fuck is this?
01:24:41
Speaker
He just took it in the room and had his way where I didn't even ask her, and this and that. And you got self-reliable, this is how reality is, you know, like, like that's my that's what I'm saying. Like, has has, like, the current climate of what it is to be a regular person In this world, yeah has that affected how our stories are told through our movies and our TV shows? so Like, are are the studios trying to play it extra safe because they don't want to... They want to avoid the firestorm of upsetting certain crowds of people for said reasons of, again, when we talk about what it is to acts for us ask for consent. Because think about it. It's not...
01:25:26
Speaker
God, don't want in trouble. It's not romantic when you're about to be intimate or you or you have this feeling of passion and you go to the person and you say, hey, listen, I i want i want to i want to do this and this and this to you.
01:25:38
Speaker
You know what I mean? You just do it because it's just the feeling. Isn't that what passion is? Passion is the feeling. when When you wake up and you see Rudy and you're like, I want to kiss this man. like You don't ask, hey, babe, listen, I want to kiss you on your neck, on your ear, on your forehead. No, no, you freaking do it.
01:25:55
Speaker
You do it. yeah Same thing how i tell how I tell my wife. You know what I mean? Or anybody else in whatever relationship yeah you're in. you You just go for it. You know what I mean? But in certain segments of society, you're supposed to always ask.
01:26:09
Speaker
So what I'm wondering is, has that affected studios and how they tell romantic stories? Like, has that been a thing where they're like, you know, we're just not going to deal with it on big productions. We'll throw that stuff on the streamer and let that be what it is.
01:26:23
Speaker
And maybe is that why studios have just shied away from being intimate having romance in their stories? I mean, I don't, because I don't see, I haven't seen it in movies. I'll be honest with you. Like I've seen a lot of movies that have,
01:26:36
Speaker
romance stuff with Alfie and stuff, and you never see, like, oh, can I... You never hear that. So, I don't know i think for some think it really... I think it depends on, like, the level of intimacy, because normally it's more about, like, a sex kind of scene compared to, like, it just being, like, oh, they're just gonna kiss, because normally that's, like, I think it's definitely become a much more... I do see it more... i mean, it's hard because, like, we're talking about movies, right? But i've I've just been seeing so much more like like when I think of it, like I see it more in like TV shows yeah where you do see like that consent.
01:27:13
Speaker
Well, in Bridgerton, do they do that in Bridgerton? Yeah. They do? raise your Yeah. So in Bridgerton, like in, I think in season three, there was like a real, like you didn't want, you don't watch Bridgerton, do you? no I don't know. Okay. And Bridgerton, it's like a, it has become like a really big thing and people are like, Oh,
01:27:31
Speaker
Oh my God, thank God there was a consent thing being said, right? Because it is like in Bridgerton, that is a very like a sexual show. It's not just like, oh, let's just kiss. And like, yeah, there are some scenes like that. This is the thing though. I feel like in Bridgerton, you can get away with it. You know why?
01:27:48
Speaker
Because Bridgerton was a different time of, time of ah it's a period piece. It's a different type of society where it is more like, you know. wait I think you get away with it doing it there as opposed to doing a modern show.
01:28:02
Speaker
No, but think about I know if you noticed it. There was a scene of that that where they he asked consent. Severance. Remember when he had sex with her like the second time?
01:28:14
Speaker
and the little but if She was like, oh, I want to have the own experience for myself. And they go into the the office and they ah have sex in that little... With the stuff. The sheets or whatever. Those plastic things.
01:28:27
Speaker
And like... Before he does whatever he's go about to get to do, he like asks her, is this okay? And she says, yes. And then they can, they can continue with whatever they were doing.
01:28:38
Speaker
So there is like in movies, like you actually do start to see a little bit more where they actually even, like they actually show so that you're like, okay, well at least this is that. The character is asking for consent in a way. you know But you know behind scenes, it's a whole different thing. But yeah, Severance was a good one. um because But I see in Severance though, I'm going to push back on it just a little bit.
01:28:59
Speaker
Because in Severance, the whole point of that scene, which I thought was, you're right, that think about it, it was very it was actually very cute. It was very romantic. But I think there was a point to that because remember, this was the second time they were going to do it.
01:29:11
Speaker
The first time, remember, she wasn't aware. Yeah. So you're saying he asked her... He asked her because... he wants to make sure that she's okay with what they're about to do because, because she's now experiencing it for herself.
01:29:28
Speaker
Yeah, sure that that's true. So I think that's why, but you do make a great point and that did happen and it worked though. It was actually very cute. It was very, romantic it was romantic, yeah but it was cute.
01:29:40
Speaker
You know what I mean? And, and, and again, but that's, that's the character of, of, of, of ah Adam Scott, you know, Adam Scott's character. He's, he's, you know, Yeah. how he is. That show. So good. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, God. We can talk about something. Oh, that show is so good. Oh, my God. It's so good.
01:29:55
Speaker
um But, yeah, you do start to see it a little bit. You do start to see it a little bit more in shows. I'm trying to think if there was, like, any other time. Like, i'm trying to think about, it like, a show show. I mean, was it on the Summer I Turned Pretty? was going to ask you, like, on on on those shows, Summer Turned Pretty or – or um ah um the Walter boys, like do we have do you ever see that as an example? does
The Importance of Romantic Films in Culture
01:30:18
Speaker
that has that Well, my life with the Walter boys, they barely get a kiss on that show, so.
01:30:24
Speaker
ah My life with the Walter boys this season it was more pretty dry. That's more kids. Kids stuff, though. It's not yes um not kids. It's more teenage stuff. It's teenager. um Also saying, like, right now, technically speaking, the only thing that's, like, really adult is Bridgerton. um Well, the summer I turned pretty the last episode, like, they're, like, in college. So it's definitely much more, like,
01:30:48
Speaker
Yeah. Like, there is, like, some... Yeah. I was like, oh, my God. I was like, am I watching Bridgerton? What's going on here? Oh, my God. Pretty sexual. They're young adults into their 20s almost. So, yeah, they're, like... see that i makes sense They're, like, 20. I think at the end, I think in the last episode, I think she's, like, she turns, like, 22. So, like, yeah. there It's definitely much more, like, sexualized. There's, like, stuff going on. I feel like there was... can't remember. feel like there was, like, a moment of, like, a...
01:31:15
Speaker
a quick, like wink, wink, is it okay kind of situation, but I can't remember right now. was too busy freaking out when I was watching. I was too busy being like, oh my God. It's going to be interesting to see, like when I when when when i see Wicked this year, next month, I wonder if John Chu does, not even what they're going to show.
01:31:38
Speaker
I'm curious to see how John Chu is going to treat that. Like, is there a ah moment of like, may I? Yeah. We'll talk about this when we do our review. Are they going to do I wonder how that's That's going to be very interesting.
01:31:51
Speaker
This was a great conversation, Mel. Yeah, I agree. I feel like we we we really chewed on this topic. and it's it's it's And it's a great topic because it's something where I think we always ask about when we want talk about movies. Because, I mean, you think about it.
01:32:05
Speaker
This podcast, we talk a lot about, you know, superhero genre and stuff. And that always takes a big piece of it. And, you know, that can get boring after while because you're just know, don't want to keep talking about it. want to about other things. want to talk about other films of movies.
01:32:16
Speaker
And romantic comedies and romance in general, It was such a big part of of our movie going up experience growing up. and And again, it's just something that I think we need more of now.
01:32:30
Speaker
I think the world, our society needs our society needs examples of of just of what it is to feel good with someone who you just...
01:32:40
Speaker
have this affinity for and and less less of the you know crazy violence that we we we get. Like, listen, don't get me wrong. I love my John Wicks. I love all that shit.
01:32:52
Speaker
I love my superhero movies. I love all that shit. But I also want more the other stuff too because it creates a healthy balance. anything Yeah, do some feel-good things. We need a healthy balance of things, man. We can't we can't have too much of one thing because then the whole thing tips over.
01:33:05
Speaker
You got to have a healthy balance because, again, I remember a time and ah time and day when The movie calendar was full with full more filled with more romantic comedies than there were action flicks.
01:33:17
Speaker
Yeah. romantic comedies were the big movies of the summer. Literally. Yeah. Romantic comedies were the big movies of the summer. like Romantic comedies would come out in mid-July. Yeah.
01:33:28
Speaker
And you'd be like, oh, shit. Now, the mid-July, save for the big blockbuster, ten-pole superhero, whatever, whatever film. Yeah. Early 2090s, man, in June and in July,
01:33:41
Speaker
it was yeah it was it was the it was the romantic comedy. So there was a raunchy romantic comedy, whether it was like a coming-of-age romantic comedy, but it was a romantic comedy, and it was several, several. I mean, every every month at least had one, or every other month there was always another one. like it was it was The calendar was full.
01:34:00
Speaker
Like ah Wedding Crashers. Oh, that was huge. Raunchy. But huge comedy. 40-year-old virgin. 40-year-old virgin. 40-year-old virgin launched the career of freaking Steve Carell. Like, that made him him, Seth Rogen, Mindy Kaling.
01:34:17
Speaker
ah Yeah. but Like, you got to think about what that movie did and how many careers it launched. Yeah. forgot Seth Rogen's in that. Yeah, Seth Rogen's in that. ah Yeah. Oh, he's like Kevin Hart was in Kevin Hart was in it. Yeah. One of the funniest scenes of that movie is Kevin Hart and Romany Malko where they're going at it.
01:34:37
Speaker
If you know, you know, if you haven't just look up. haven't seen it in forever. Look up Kevin Hart, Romany Malko, 40-year-old version going at it. It's the it's yeah I will never get tired of that scene because it's hilarious because it just reminds me of my friends.
01:34:50
Speaker
It literally reminds me of my my boys that I grew up with. Yeah. But yeah, like that movie was huge. you know That was a big movie that came out. it was a massive hit. You said it, Wedding Crashers.
01:35:00
Speaker
What was it? Damn, there was um another one that I had saw um that was that was really big. What was What was it? was
01:35:11
Speaker
Do you remember who the actors are in it? Or what it's about? we mentioned 50 First Dates, right? Oh, briefly. Very briefly. but that was a really one. That massive movie. Massive movie. The Wedding Singer.
01:35:25
Speaker
The wet Wedding Singer was huge. Yeah. Huge. All those Adam Sandler flicks that came out, they were all, as much as they were comedies, they were all romantic comedies. Yeah. All of them. Maybe maybe Big Daddy wasn't one. Big Daddy was a different type of story.
01:35:40
Speaker
Yeah. all of them, Mr. D's 51st Dates. Yeah. um a wedding Wedding Singer. like They were all romantic comedies. that market. I love that one. ah Just Go With It.
01:35:52
Speaker
I love that movie. That was a later on one. Another big one. I wasn't a fan of this I'm not a fan of the actor, but Forgetting Sarah Marshall was a very big movie. I was just going to say Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
01:36:04
Speaker
yeah That was a yeah very, very big movie. That was huge when it came out. you know like there's ah there's a There's a bunch of different... o remember me Remember Serendipity? I don't think I've ever seen Serendipity. Serendipity.
01:36:17
Speaker
Yeah, that was a came out the with Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack. That was a big one. One of my favorite, one of my favorite romantic comedies of all time is this one movie we called Only You. Ironically, with Robert Downey Jr. and Marissa Tomei. Yes. I had huge fan.
Reviving the Rom-Com Genre with Fresh Talent
01:36:31
Speaker
i had the yeah biggest freaking cry i was in love with marissa told me i love that movie that was such a yeah great movie that one another one that was a personal favorite mine this one called return to me um with um mini driver um and it's like a beautiful film it's that she's like a heart patient and she gets a new heart it's just yeah beautiful film there's so many of there's The Wedding Planner is one of my favorites. The Wedding Planner obviously was just, it's a classic. like Classic. There's so many great romantic comedies that were just good movies. like They weren't sassy. weren't corny. They were actually good. They were funny. They were good, yeah. They very funny. Oh, I remember umm in the 2000s, there was this one called Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist.
01:37:15
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Great film. Great music, but just a great film. Actually, a very cute film. um What was it? Oh, there was another one on the... Go ahead, Mel. I don't know if you've seen this one. Warm Bodies.
01:37:28
Speaker
Oh, love Warm Bodies with Nicholas Hope. love that movie. Great movie. Awesome movie. That's a really good movie. Awesome movie. Along Came Polly with Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston.
01:37:41
Speaker
I mean, there's just so many. Two Weeks Notice, Hugh Grant. Yeah, that's what I saw. Oh, Hugh Grant. We're talking about Hugh Grant and Julia How could we, Hugh Grant? Notting Hill. come on. Notting Hill. like Dude, this is is a genre that was beloved.
01:37:57
Speaker
And it needs to get big again. like It needs to become a thing again. We need it but How do we get it? It's the question. How do we get it? cause we're not We're not the decision makers. Those actors don't want to make those movies. So we have to figure out. you know what we need What we need to have is better stories within that space.
01:38:15
Speaker
Really good stories. And I think if you have good stories within that space, I think you will get better movies and if you get better movies then more people will get into it but do you think if it's like a better movie does it still have to be like an A-list actor or can it be someone who is like a like like a new like a new and upcoming like I'm like what's his name um so the um so it's gonna be on Netflix of course um people on vacation it's based on a book he was um this is like really popular really I think it's coming out in January it's a really really big popular book that's coming out
01:38:51
Speaker
um And it stars the guy that was um young ah President Snow from Ballad of Song Wars. Yeah, him and the girl, the main girl from My Lady Jane.
01:39:03
Speaker
So like ah everyone is is like really really, excited about this. But like he's like a young upcoming actor. What's the name of it again? Of what?
01:39:14
Speaker
The movie? the book The book you're talking about? The movie, yeah. People on Vacation. of I think it's by Emily Henry, I think it is. i need to read. I want to read it Yeah, Emily Henry. Yeah. People we meet on vacation. There you go. That's what it is. Yeah, it's like friends or something. it's like I think it's like a friends to lovers kind of trope.
01:39:30
Speaker
They're like friends they meet on vacation like every year, but like over the years. That's cool. That's cool. That's different. Well, you yeah do you know, thats that reminds me of, um there's this, there's this, uh, romantic ah movie. I don't know. It's not... don't think a romantic comedy. It's called Before Sunset, After Sunset. It's Ethan Hawke and Julie Delepi. And I think they did like three or four movies.
01:39:52
Speaker
And it's like that where they meet... And every movie is like they meet at a certain part of like sunset on a different day. And I think it's like you see their relationship bloom. And at first you see them when they first meet. Then I think the second one is that they get together and they actually get married. And the last one is that they're together and they have kids. And it's actually. Oh, interesting. I've seen it, but I've seen pieces of it. i'll send you I'll send you the thing so maybe you can find it and watch it. But not now that you mention that, it reminds me of that, actually. Oh, interesting.
01:40:22
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. But yeah, like, know. That's like my thought is like, maybe like if they just had like some better stories and like, I think if you had some like young and upcoming actors, which is fine. I have no
Star Power vs. Storytelling in Rom-Coms
01:40:35
Speaker
problem. Like even like, what's his name? Like I was saying, like the guy from how to train your dragon, who is like pretty, he's getting pretty big and he's in this new regretting new movie, which like I said, has romance aspects, it's like more like sad.
01:40:46
Speaker
um Like, you know, you start to get that kind of, you know, caliber of actors. like Everyone has to start somewhere, right? Yeah, of course.
01:40:58
Speaker
You know who we always forget about did lot of rom-coms? Mark Ruffalo. yeah Mark Ruffalo did a lot. yeah you know did a lot Matthew McConaughey. They were all like in their 20s around there. And everyone's got to start somewhere. But like that doesn't mean that the genre has to stop just because these actors no longer want to do it. look There's always another generation.
01:41:19
Speaker
like i just like Like you had mentioned before, you know Sophia Carson's kind of like that. person but sophia carson cannot act i just i can't i can't deal with her she oh my god i saw my oxford year and i just i couldn't with her acting but the guy she's with cory milkrease please put him in more movies put him in a rom-com he he is so good and he's also kind of in that um twenty s age range like coming up up i'm coming thank you to Bridgerton-verse for bringing him to us.
01:41:50
Speaker
But, you know, he's kind of like in that, what's his name? ah Kit Connor. Like, I'm thinking about like these like younger actors that are getting lot of praise and are like starting to get up. Obviously, you know, not all these actors want to do rom-coms, but, you know, I'm just thinking like, it would be good if there were like some good stories that maybe would- That's what I- think the stories are good- wanting to do If the stories are good- Yeah.
01:42:16
Speaker
The stories are good. Which they can be. If the stories are good, we'll get more, we'll get better movies. guess that means we got to writers that want to write some of these do really believe, though, that you need the actors, the big actors. The big actors, there's something about it, Mel.
01:42:33
Speaker
There's something about having that commanding presence, that that person there. You can just be like, I trust you. I believe this story because you're in it. And there is something to that. like like I'm looking at actors right now. like For instance, to me, one of the best actors, young actors in Hollywood right now, to me personally, is Timothee Chalamet. I think Timothee Chalamet is a amazing actor.
01:42:56
Speaker
Oh, yeah, you really like him. Yeah, he could be a good one. He's great. I think he's too serious. think he's too serious. if you could put no he couldnt I don't know if you've seen him on SNL. He's freaking hilarious. He's good. No, no, no. I meant like he like I think he wants to be like...
01:43:11
Speaker
Oh, no, he wants to be serious. Yeah, he wants to do that. So I don't think he would do a rom-com. I think that's not his vibe. I think... It might not be, but I think if you... i Honestly, I think if you give him something fun... mean, he did do Willy Wonka.
01:43:22
Speaker
Yeah, and he was really good in it. He was really good in it. I think if you give him something that has substance, because you can do a romantic comedy or romantic movie that has some sort of substance, I think he would be...
01:43:34
Speaker
great in it because he has these he has he's amazing um acting chops and he has really, really good screen presence. You know what I mean? like like i think you know I want to say this and and you know just to wrap up. like yeah our vote yeah yeah i like I think about actors and you know i want to think about a bunch of actors. I don't i just don't want to think about you know the regular white guy. I want to think about all these other actors that that we can talk about of prominence and color. Like we talk about Aaron, Aaron Pierre, who's a, who's a, just, just very strapping, good looking guy.
01:44:03
Speaker
You have, we have Dan, Dan Sanedrus, who was an F1. Like you have all these other actors that I want to like really put out there that deserve to have a spotlight in all these types of comedies and all these types of ah romantic things. Like, like I just, I just think,
01:44:20
Speaker
we need to have a better story. Better story. Bring them in Bring them in. They can all do it. Like, they can all... They can all do this, but I think I want to have this, and I want it to be these these actors and actresses that just you know give that performance and give that, but they also have that star quality. And I know what you're saying about, oh, this person's up and coming, person's up and coming.
01:44:46
Speaker
I don't want to put that responsibility on that person. i want I want this person to do it because I think they can they can they alone can bring that to the movie. You know what I'm saying? Like, they can Yeah, no, absolutely. No, no i I mean, yeah, there there is just something about, like, that star power that is always going to bring in an audience. I mean, it's, you know, I'm just going to say, I mean, it's like Taylor Swift, right? Anything Taylor Swift touches does, puts on TV, puts in a movie theater, people are going to go to it because it's Taylor motherfucking Swift, you know, like, at the end of the day. um...
01:45:25
Speaker
um I totally get what you mean about like it would be great to have like an actual like you know, high. Or like, mean, Zendaya, she could be another one.
01:45:37
Speaker
Like, I don't know. just like thinking. definitely. Yeah. definite Tom Holland. Tom Holland could be one. Yeah. that There's yeah names out there that I feel like, I feel like it's like, well, you know what? I'm going to give, i was I was giving Tom Holland a lot of crap because I just feel like he was, he's he's an actor that, he's gotten popular because of MCU and Spider-Man. he hasn't He hasn't done anything. Next year, we're going to actually see him In a Christopher Nolan movie.
01:46:05
Speaker
And that's that's big time right there. Let's see how you do with that. Let's see how you do with that. Now, that movie is going to be a massive hit, but it's going to be a massive hit because of Christopher Nolan, not because of Tom Holland. it's that Is he the lead?
01:46:17
Speaker
No, the lead is Matt Damon. Matt Damon is the lead. Oh, that's what thought. Yeah, Matt Damon said that. But you to understand, with Christopher Nolan, Christopher Nolan has this pattern where if he works with an actor and he likes how he works with actor, he'll bring him back in a movie. Likelihood, he'll bring him in a starring role. So you could look Tom Holland as this being kind of like a ah showcase for him, for Christopher Nolan, where who knows if the movie Christopher Nolan does afterwards, he says, I want Tom Holland to be the to be the face of that movie. But let's see how he does. Because I know Tom Holland is a very gifted actor.
01:46:57
Speaker
I just haven't seen it. I haven't seen it outside of... you know the end Oh, you haven't seen him in any of it and anything else other than... Yeah, I haven't. And and not even that. it's like It's like, I don't hear anybody talking to talking about him in other things he's done. Like, I don't hear it.
01:47:11
Speaker
So it's like, I'm like... i'm like um like That's why I like i i lean at... I look at Timothee Chalamet and I'm like, see, this is a guy that he's done... a lot of different things and you hear everybody talk about him. And I feel like, see, that's merited because this dude has done a bunch of things and, and he's just, you know, the love and everything he does with Tom Hahn. It's like, Oh, you're, you're Peter Parker, Spider-Man. I got to see more of that. You know what I mean? But
Societal Need for Hope through Romantic Comedies
01:47:34
Speaker
I digress in regards to that again, ah just to wrap it up, let's get more romantic comedies out there. Let's get more love and intimacy
01:47:43
Speaker
And romance in these movies. Let's set that example. Studios, if you're listening, you know, big time Hollywood casting, ah agents, everything. Let's put this out there, man.
01:47:55
Speaker
The world needs more love. and needs It needs to feel what it is to so be alive and be in love and be a hopeless romantic. That's the word, Mel. Hopeless. Hopeless romantic.
01:48:06
Speaker
Let's bring that back the lexicon. Because right now, you know what it feels It feels like we're all hopeless. That's what it feels like right now. let's There's no romance. Let's let's bring the romance into it. If we're going to be hopeless, let's be hopeless romantics.
01:48:17
Speaker
Let's look at everything through these heart-shaped glasses and and feel... You know, feel that again because we are missing that. And I hope that we get more movies and, you know, put it on the big screen. And if not, then let's get some higher quality stuff on the small screen.
01:48:36
Speaker
Let's get that. Let's build this up and let's make it into something. Agreed. I second second that um for sure. I would love to see some more romantic comedies and just more romance in our films just sprinkled for sure.
01:48:50
Speaker
ah But yeah, this was a really great conversation. Lots to really suck our teeth into here for sure. There was a lot. So I really hope you guys enjoyed this episode because that one was a – I hope you guys got something out of that and made you think a little bit more about when you go in watch movies and be like, Oh, you know what, that's true. Like I haven't seen like that much romance in these films or I haven't like when was the last time I saw a good, really good romantic comedy?
01:49:16
Speaker
Was it on streaming? Was it in a movie theater? Like, just to make you think about it a little bit more because yeah, I think we are very much conditioned as a society. to just go to the movies for the big events and that's it. And then next thing you know, we're like, oh, I right remember last time I saw just a feel good comedy or feel good, you know, romance.
01:49:34
Speaker
yeah um other than Other than on TV, because I do watch a lot of that. But, you know, in our in our movies, that would be really nice to see, you know, pay pay to go to to to support a movie like that.
01:49:47
Speaker
I agree 100%. Yeah, that's true. That is true. and's true But anyway, guys, if you liked this episode, please follow the podcast. ah Leave us a review. Other than that, I think you'll see us some in a couple of weeks here. I don't know what's coming up, but don't think we have any movies or anything. Oh, well, I mean, we do have November coming up, but I'm not sure if we're going to be getting to that. no i yeah I think our next episode, we're going to focus on topics. I think we had agreed on a topic.
01:50:12
Speaker
Yeah, we wanted to talk about physical media. Yeah. Oh, that's a big one. Yes. Our next episode. so if you're Yeah. oh that's good We're really, really excited. Our next episode, we are going to focus on ah physical media, the decline of physical media in a way, but also, you know, how that...
01:50:30
Speaker
you know has affected us like growing up, having physical media versus not having it. Do we miss it? All those things. I'm really, really excited. And what it means to have true ownership of yes said media.
01:50:41
Speaker
Because that's a big topic that people do not realize. Yes, that's very, very true. i mean, I do miss having my own thing. i I do miss it. i am ah I'm really excited. because you own app Just because you own it digitally doesn't mean that you actually own it. Remember that.
01:50:57
Speaker
Yeah. It's going to be a really good really really good conversation. But guys, thanks so much for listening and we will see you in the next one. Bye. Peace. peace